1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates generally to spray guns and, more particularly, to flow control plate to reduce harmful emissions in a spray component system.
2. Description of Related Art
In sophisticated spray component systems, known as plural component systems, two or more components are concurrently sprayed from a spray gun. One of the most useful plural component systems is a fiberglass system. In such a system, a first component, composed of a resin, is sprayed from one nozzle, and a second component, composed of a catalyst, is fed from another nozzle and mixed in a spray directly in front of the spray gun. As soon as the components are mixed, a reaction starts, polymerizing the resin into a solid, coherent mass. However, when the resin is atomized into a spray pattern, misting occurs, resulting in lower fiberglass and resin transfer rates and higher styrene emissions. Spraying of a third component, such as a "chop" into such mixed sprays significantly reduce styrene emissions. Therefore, fiberglass spray guns may be augmented by including a chopper assembly which chops up a fiberglass roving and concurrently sprays short segments of fiberglass into the spray pattern of the mixed resin and catalyst ejected from the resin and catalyst nozzles. This composite, mixed with the short fiberglass strands embedded in the catalyzed resin, is directed to a surface for polymerization on the surface to form the fiberglass article.
Other known equipment mixes components, such as resin and catalyst at a manifold somewhere in or behind the spray gun. Such equipment then sprays a mix of components at a high pressure and high velocity, combined with blown air, and a chop, which may be liquid or powder is directed into the mix, to create a fiberglass or other materials. In such equipment, as well as the fiberglass spray gun mentioned above, the components can be mixed at the nozzle before it flows out in front of the gun in a fan-type pattern at a pressure of about 1,000 lbs. The chopped fiberglass, liquid or powder is then mixed with the fan type pattern in front of the nozzle. As is well known, when using an airless tip, with oblong holes or openings, the components are normally atomized. However, because of increased awareness of the environment and stricter Federal and State controls, particularly those of California, the atomized components in the fan spray emitted by nozzles in known spray guns is unacceptable. Therefore, elimination of emissions, from a spray pattern emitted by such spray guns has become a top priority. However, known nozzles or systems do not provide sufficient control of the flow of the mixed components materials into the fan spray pattern, nor do they is sufficiently cut down on emissions.
Therefore, there exists the need in the art for an easy to manufacture and use means to control emissions from a fan spray pattern of mixed components emitted by a spray gun.